PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A young Somali-American man convicted of plotting to bomb a 2010 Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in Portland Oregon’s town square has written an apology letter in advance of his sentencing and says he renounces his former beliefs.

In a letter from jail, filed by his lawyers in federal court, Mohamed Mohamud offers to speak to young Muslims “to help keep them away from the path of extremism.” And he told U.S. District Judge Garr King he turned to books to help him “walk a better path.” His reading list ranges from “The Grapes of Wrath” and President Barack Obama’s “The Audacity of Hope” to “A Zombie Apocalypse.”

A government sentencing memo filed Friday suggests a sentence of life imprisonment. Mohamud’s defense team suggests 10 years. Sentencing has been set for Sept. 6, but the date may be changed.

The Oregonian and KGW-TV carried reports on the court filings.

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APPHOTO NY136: FILE – In this Nov. 27, 2010 file photo provided by the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office is Mohamed Mohamud. Mohamud, a Somali-American convicted of plotting to bomb a 2010 Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in Portland’s town square, has written an apology letter in advance of his sentencing and says he renounces his former beliefs. (AP Photo/Mauthnomah County Sheriff’s Office, File) (3 Jan 2013)

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